Refusal to sign on Congress's "Manmohan-as-PM" script was voiced separately. Yet, when pieced together the notes of dissent point to a pattern. A day after CPM termed Congress's leadership as "unacceptable", three Congress allies stressed Left's indispensability for the formation of the next government, suggesting that the preference of the comrades needed to be kept in mind.

NCP boss Sharad Pawar, a PM aspirant with endorsements from BJD's Naveen Patnaik and AIADMK's J Jayalalitha already under his belt, was the first to shrewdly link the next government to Left support and preferences. As if on a cue, both RJD boss Lalu Prasad and LJP chief Ramvilas Paswan chose to underline their affinity for Left even as they were engaged in the polling fields of Bihar.

There is only one thing common among the regional parties and the Left -- an intense desire to settle scores with Congress. For all the gloss of dialogue, their insistence that it will be up to UPA to "sit together" and discuss the PM issue after elections marked a studied rebuff to Congress's expectation that "secular" parties will back it. The timing was also significant. The second round of polling has a crucial bearing on Congress's numbers in the next Lok Sabha.

The partners seem to reckon that Congress's bargaining position could be eroded if it fails to better its 2004 performance of 145 seats or if the difference between its tally and the BJP's remains nominal. That will open the Congress to manoeuvres from wily political players like Pawar who have vastly upgraded their ties with a Left still smarting from being worsted by Singh over the Indo-US nuclear deal.

Pawar said the comrades had been "good friends" whose "blessings" will be required in the post-poll scenario, besides rubbing in the fact that Congress leadership did not deem it necessary to get its prime ministerial choice endorsed by the UPA.

Lalu and Paswan did not go that far, choosing instead Left's shoulders to place their guns on. Lalu emphasised that differences with Left had been "limited" to the India-US nuclear deal. However, what this implied for the author of the deal was not difficult to guess. Paswan stressed his opposition to the split with the Left. As it happens, Lalu and Paswan are now closer to Samajwadi Party than Congress.

The implications of bonhomie for Left are obvious. CPM general secretary Prakash Karat has firmly ruled out supporting a Congress-led government and even if he were to reconsider the minimum condition could well be a change in the PM nominee given the bitter parting over the nuclear deal.

Significantly, Singh seemed to have taken note of Left's frosty response to recent overtures by him and other Congress leaders like Pranab Mukherjee. After casting his vote in Guwahati, he said, "I would not like to comment", when asked on whether he will take Left's support for government formation. He said, "There will be a Congress-led government."

But if Congress's numbers dip,and the undertone of barbs seems to suggest their perception that Congress is not doing that well, the Left-backed "third front" and SP-RJD-LJP "fourth front" can together pitch for their candidate as PM. Congress does have the option to refuse and sit out in Opposition, but it will be under pressure to ensure a "secular" government takes office.

At the least, party may be compelled to concede more- both in terms of choice for PMO as well as key ministries, thus goes the calculation of the Front strategists.Congress which is sure to exploit the ambitions of the partners may not mind paying the price.

"I honestly feel this time we require the support and the blessings of the Left parties. That is why, from the first day, I am consistently saying to my colleagues in the UPA to keep a good rapport with the Left," Pawar said while also promising to work for the re-inclusion of SP, RJD and LJP in the UPA. Noting the doors for cooperation with Left were "still open", Lalu said, "We have been friends with the Left for a long time."

SP, NCP and LJP leaders who have interacted with Karat admit he is quite inflexible about his opposition to Singh and Congress. If there is half a chance that the poll results weaken Congress's claims, he will not let it go. Faced with its allies ranged against it, Congress's choices could be rather limited.